Chattanooga Man Found Guilty Of Killing His Mother By Setting Her House On Fire

A Hamilton County jury has convicted Joshua Wells, 32, of first degree murder and aggravated arson in the 2016 fire that claimed his mother’s life. Wells intentionally set fire to Kimberly Wells’ home while she was sleeping inside and as smoke and flames spread, she was unable to escape. The guilty verdict came Sunday (7/2/23) after a week-long trial. Wells faces life in prison.

He was indicted in December 2022 when District Attorney Coty Wamp took office, finally moving the case forward in the pursuit for justice for the victim. DA Wamp and Chief Homicide Prosecutor Paul Moyle tried the case before Judge Boyd Patterson.

Security camera video from a neighbor seen by the jury showed a figure go up to the house and start the beginnings of a fire. The figure leaves and then returns to start a bigger fire. Relatives testified that they were certain that it was Joshua Wells in the footage.

On July 13, 2016 at 5:30 AM, Chattanooga firefighters responded to a residential structure fire at 1725 Rubio Street. Flames quickly engulfed the home. Once fire companies responded to the scene, the house had already sustained significant damage. Crews made entry through the front and located Ms. Wells, 44, who was suffering from injuries from the fire. She was transported to the hospital in critical condition and then airlifted to a burn center in Augusta, Georgia. She passed away from injuries sustained in the blaze the following day. CFD investigators spent countless hours working on the arson case and developed Joshua Wells as the suspect. The conviction is the culmination of years of hard work and persistence by our investigators, including Chief Anthony Moore and Captain Andy Waters, who never gave up on the case and tirelessly pushed for it to be prosecuted. District Attorney Wamp said: “The State of Tennessee didn’t forget about Kimberly Wells and neither did the Chattanooga Fire Department.”